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About Us

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget is a nonpartisan, non-profit organization committed to educating the public on issues with significant fiscal policy impact.

Our bipartisan leadership comprises some of the nation's leading budget experts, including many past heads of the House and Senate Budget Committees, the Congressional Budget Office, the Office of Management and Budget, the Government Accountability Office, and the Federal Reserve Board.

As an independent source of objective policy analysis, we regularly engage policymakers of both parties and help them develop and analyze proposals to improve the country’s fiscal and economic condition.

These efforts have reinforced the Committee’s role as an authoritative voice for fiscal responsibility and an educational resource for policymakers and the general public. It is also a trusted budget watchdog that assists journalists across the country in understanding fiscal developments in Washington.

In 1980, Robert Giaimo (D-CT) and Henry Bellmon (R-OK) both left Congress. Mr. Giaimo had served in the House of Representatives for 20 years, including four as Chairman of the House Budget Committee. Mr. Bellmon had served 12 years as a Senator and was the ranking Republican on the Senate Budget Committee from its inception in 1975.

These two fiscal policy leaders convened a group of other former Budget Committee Chairmen, former Directors of the Office of Management and Budget, leading economists, and business leaders. The group concluded that the country needed an organization outside government that was committed to a sound budget process. They formed the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, and it was incorporated on June 10, 1981.

Since then, the Committee has continued to leverage its high-quality research and objective policy analysis to engage lawmakers from both parties – regularly meeting with members of Congress and their staff, hosting several policy briefings, and offering practical solutions that can achieve bipartisan support and put the country on a sustainable fiscal course.